The new Heliotrope _Le Negre_ is the darkest of this genus, and _Snow
Wreath_ the nearest approach to white we have yet had; truss very large,
growth compact, and fragrance exquisite. _Garibaldi_ is almost white;
_Mrs. Burgess_ is dark violet, and _Duc de Lavendury_ is a rich blue,
dark eye.
[Illustration]
Sweet Alyssum is another of the essential flowers for the border,
admirable for edgings, for its dwarf habit and continuity of bloom. The
great novelty of last year was the new double variegated Sweet
Alyssum--"The Gem." The flowers are very full, and the foliage broad
with a mid-rib of light green, bordered on each side with pure white. It
is a fine, compact grower, and far superior to anything of this species
yet offered.
Lantanas, I think, add greatly to the attractions of the garden, so rich
in color and profuse in blooming. _Clotilda_, pink with yellow center,
and _Comtesse de Diencourt_, flower bright rose and yellow center
sulphur, are very desirable. _Alba perfecta_, pure white, is fine, so
also is _Alba lutea grandiflora_, white with yellow center. _Mine d'Or_
is a new variety, with bright orange and crimson flowers, and golden
variegated foliage. _M. Schmidt_ is a beautiful novelty. Flowers of a
brilliant yellow, passing into purple vermilion; grows in the style of a
Petunia.
A Talk About Cyclamens and Oxalis.
Next to Primroses, and by no means below them in value, we place the
Cyclamen. The leaves, a deep green with white embroidery, are very
ornamental, but when surmounted with a wealth of bloom, what can be more
charming? Two of mine have begun to blossom--a white and a pink--and the
buds are numerous. Others will bloom later. They continue in bloom for a
long period, and are easy of culture, though where there is over-dryness
of atmosphere, they are apt to be infested with the red spider. They
need to be frequently sprayed and it is well to immerse occasionally the
entire plant in water so as to wet the under surface of the leaves. The
water ought to be tepid, and indeed for all plants in cold weather. To
keep the dirt from falling out when the plant is plunged top downward,
something can be wrapped around the pot. A mixture of turfy loam and
sandy peat is best, but when not available, leaf mold or a rich mellow
soil mixed with silver sand will do.
There are several varieties of Cyclamen, but the most common is
_persicum_, and many catalogues name no other. One of mine is
_gigantium_, an improvement on _persicum_, the flowers being much larger
and finer in every respect. Among many catalogues I find this named in
only one. _Persicum_, white and pink, is a sweet scented variety from
Cyprus; _Africanum_, white and rose, from Africa; _hederæfolium_, from
Britain. Other rare and expensive sorts are _Atkinsii_, white, crimson
and rose colored; _Europeum_, red, and _Coum_, which in the early spring
months bears above its very ornamental leaves "a profusion of small
bright, rosy, crimson and snow-white turbinate blossoms of a roundish
recurved outline, blotched with violet-crimson at the base, very
beautiful."
The bulbs of all Cyclamens, except _Coum_, should be placed on the
surface of the soil, covered half an inch, and water given moderately
till the leaves are fully developed, and the flowers appear, when it may
be applied more liberally. Do not make a mistake and plant your bulb
upside down as did a lady I know of. "I have an idea that it is put in
wrong, as the leaves seem to come from the under side," she writes. It
is difficult to tell sometimes which is the right side to put down.
_Persicum_, with its dappled green and silvery gray, rounded,
heart-shaped leaves, embroidered margins, is a fine ornament, but when
these are surmounted with a profusion of pure silvery white oblong
lanceolate petals, blotched with violet-crimson at their base, borne on
slender flower-scopes, the plant is very beautiful. It varies in color
from snow-white delicate peach and rosy crimson. Some are delightfully
fragrant. During the growing and flowering season the plant should have
a full exposure to the light, but not to the intense sunshine. After
blooming, the bulbs may be allowed a time of rest, removing them to a
cool and shady place in the border, if desired, watering rarely. In
early autumn repot, and after a few weeks of growth, water more freely.
It does not, however, injure the plant to keep it constantly growing,
and the best florists have very generally abandoned their former method
of letting them rest during the summer. _Cyclamen autumnale flore alba_,
white, and _rubra_, red, blossom in the autumn.